Meeting Join for Meeting Device

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity, such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions, the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some other permission-centric role.

BACKGROUND

Online meetings have become increasingly more popular in the lastseveral years. Online meetings enable people at different locations tomeet and collaborate in a high-quality meeting experience. As technologyassociated with online meetings evolves, challenges continue to be posedto continue to improve the manner in which online meetings can beconducted and the user experience. For example, challenges continue tobe posed to enable meeting rooms and meeting devices to easily joinonline meetings.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to log intoan online meeting in association with a trusted entity, such as atrusted user. Once trust is established between the trusted entity andthe meeting domain, such as an enterprise domain, permissions can beassigned to a meeting device, by virtue of the trust relationship withthe trusted entity, to enable the meeting device to join the meeting asa participant, thus allowing the meeting device to bypass an initialjoin process such as a meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of theassigned permissions, the meeting device may take control of the meetingand control the experience for others in the meeting as a meetingorganizer or some other permission-centric role.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different instances in thedescription and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example meeting device in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example environment in accordance withone or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an example system in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example meeting device that can be utilized toimplement various embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to log intoan online meeting in association with a trusted entity, such as atrusted user. Once trust is established between the trusted entity andthe meeting domain, such as an enterprise domain, permissions can beassigned to a meeting device, by virtue of the trust relationship withthe trusted entity, to enable the meeting device to join the meeting asa participant, thus allowing the meeting device to bypass an initialjoin process such as a meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of theassigned permissions, the meeting device may take control of the meetingand control the experience for others in the meeting as a meetingorganizer or some other permission-centric role.

In this way, online meeting flexibility is improved by virtue of thefact that totally unauthenticated meeting devices can assume an identityfor a specific meeting and be trusted by virtue of the trustrelationship that is established. Alternately, a meeting device need notnecessarily assume an identity. Rather, the meeting device can begranted permissions associated with a particular user who initiated themeeting join. The permissions can be assigned to the particular meetingsession for the connection of the meeting device or to the device of theuser who is joining the meeting. When the meeting concludes, the meetingdevice can return to an unauthenticated state. This can greatly increasethe security associated with conference room or other meeting-basedcomputing systems. Moreover, the user's experience is enhanced byproviding the user with different online meeting options which are notnecessarily constrained to meeting in traditional meeting rooms, such ascorporate meeting rooms and the like.

In the following discussion, an example environment is first describedthat is operable to employ the techniques described herein. Thetechniques may be employed in the example environment, as well as inother environments.

Example Environment

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an exampleimplementation that is operable to employ the techniques as describedherein. The illustrated environment 100 includes a computing device 102that serves as a meeting device that may be configured in a variety ofways. In this example, meeting device 102 represents a computing devicethat is utilized to plan and/or conduct a meeting. The meeting device102 can typically reside in a meeting room or conference room in whichmany different types of meetings can take place. Alternately oradditionally, the meeting device can reside in a public place such as ahotel, airport, and the like.

The meeting device 102 may be configured as a traditional computer(e.g., a desktop personal computer, laptop computer, and so on), amobile station, a wireless phone, a netbook, a handheld device, and soforth as further described in relation to FIG. 2. Thus, the meetingdevice 102 may range from full resource devices with substantial memoryand processor resources (e.g., personal computers) to a low-resourcedevice with limited memory and/or processing resources. The meetingdevice 102 also includes software that causes the meeting device 102 toperform one or more operations as described below. In at least someembodiments, the meeting device 102 is a large form factor device thatprovides a canvas for idea collaboration.

Meeting device 102 can include, by way of example and not limitation, anumber of different components including a gesture module 104, a webplatform 106, meeting software 107, and meeting hardware 108.

The gesture and module 104 is operational to provide gesturefunctionality. The gesture module 104 can be implemented in connectionwith any suitable type of hardware, software, firmware or combinationthereof. In at least some embodiments, the gesture module 104 isimplemented in software that resides on some type of computer-readablestorage medium examples of which are provided below.

Gesture module 104 is representative of functionality that recognizesgestures that can be performed by one or more fingers, and causesoperations to be performed that correspond to the gestures. The gesturesmay be recognized by module 104 in a variety of different ways. Forexample, the gesture module 104 may be configured to recognize a touchinput, such as a finger of a user's hand as proximal to display device110 of the meeting device 102 using touchscreen functionality.

It is to be appreciated and understood that a variety of different typesof gestures may be recognized by the gesture module 104 including, byway of example and not limitation, gestures that are recognized from asingle type of input (e.g., touch gestures such as the previouslydescribed drag-and-drop gesture) as well as gestures involving multipletypes of inputs. For example, module 104 can be utilized to recognizesingle-finger gestures and bezel gestures, multiple-finger/same-handgestures and bezel gestures, and/or multiple-finger/different-handgestures and bezel gestures.

For example, the meeting device 102 may be configured to detect anddifferentiate between a touch input (e.g., provided by one or morefingers of the user's hand) and a stylus or pen input (e.g., provided bya stylus 116). The differentiation may be performed in a variety ofways, such as by detecting an amount of the display device 110 that iscontacted by the finger of the user's hand versus an amount of thedisplay device 110 that is contacted by the stylus 116.

Thus, the gesture module 104 may support a variety of different gesturetechniques through recognition and leverage of a division between stylusand touch inputs, as well as different types of touch inputs.

The web platform 106 is a platform that works in connection with contentof the web, e.g. public content. A web platform 106 can include and makeuse of many different types of technologies such as, by way of exampleand not limitation, URLs, HTTP, REST, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, DOM, andthe like. The web platform 106 can also work with a variety of dataformats such as XML, JSON, and the like. Web platform 106 can includevarious web browsers, web applications (i.e. “web apps”), and the like.When executed, the web platform 106 allows the computing device toretrieve web content such as electronic documents in the form ofwebpages (or other forms of electronic documents, such as a documentfile, XML file, PDF file, XLS file, etc.) from a Web server and displaythem on the display device 110. It should be noted that meeting device102 could be any computing device that is capable of displaying Webpages/documents and connect to the Internet.

Meeting software 107 is representative of software that enables meetingsto be conducted using various features which can include, by way ofexample and not limitation, instant messaging, Voice over IP, videoconferencing, and the like. The meeting software can also include suchthings as a cloud-based whiteboard tool that enables meetingparticipants to write upon the display device 110.

Meeting hardware 108 is representative of hardware that enables meetingsto be conducted as described above and below. The hardware can include,by way of example and not limitation, built-in sensors to help themeeting device wakeup when a person is in close proximity and track aperson's movement so that one or more cameras (e.g., 1080p cameras oneach side of the meeting device) can follow the person. In addition, themeeting hardware 108 can work in concert with the meeting software 107to provide meeting starts using a single touch. The hardware andsoftware of the meeting device can also allow participants to sharecontent wirelessly, thus making meetings engaging and productive. Themeeting hardware 108 can also include a built-in microphone array.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 showing the components of FIG.1, e.g., meeting software 107 and meeting hardware 108, as beingimplemented in an environment where multiple devices are interconnectedthrough a central computing device. The meeting software 107 and meetinghardware 108 can enable the meeting device to participate in a meetingusing various technologies including, by way of example and notlimitation, instant messaging, Voice over IP, video conferencing,whiteboard functionality, content sharing and the like.

The central computing device may be local to the multiple devices or maybe located remotely from the multiple devices. In one embodiment, thecentral computing device is a “cloud” server farm, which comprises oneor more server computers that are connected to the multiple devicesthrough a network or the Internet or other means.

In one embodiment, this interconnection architecture enablesfunctionality to be delivered across multiple devices to provide acommon and seamless experience to the user of the multiple devices. Eachof the multiple devices may have different physical requirements andcapabilities, and the central computing device uses a platform to enablethe delivery of an experience to the device that is both tailored to thedevice and yet common to all devices. In one embodiment, a “class” oftarget device is created and experiences are tailored to the genericclass of devices. A class of device may be defined by physical featuresor usage or other common characteristics of the devices. For example, aspreviously described the meeting device 102 may be configured in avariety of different ways, such as for mobile 202, computer 204, andtelevision 206 uses. Each of these configurations has a generallycorresponding screen size and thus the meeting device 102 may beconfigured as one of these device classes in this example system 200.For instance, the meeting device 102 may assume the mobile 202 class ofdevice which includes mobile telephones, music players, game devices,and so on. The meeting device 102 may also assume a computer 204 classof device that includes personal computers, laptop computers, netbooks,tablets, large form factor devices, and so on. The television 206configuration includes configurations of device that involve display ina casual environment, e.g., televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles,and so on. Thus, the techniques described herein may be supported bythese various configurations of the meeting device 102 and are notlimited to the specific examples described in the following sections.

As described above, meeting device 102 includes meeting software 107that operates as described above and below.

Cloud 208 is illustrated as including a platform 210 for web services212. The platform 210 abstracts underlying functionality of hardware(e.g., servers) and software resources of the cloud 208 and thus may actas a “cloud operating system.” For example, the platform 210 mayabstract resources to connect the meeting device 102 with othercomputing devices. The platform 210 may also serve to abstract scalingof resources to provide a corresponding level of scale to encountereddemand for the web services 212 that are implemented via the platform210. Web services 212 can include a meeting service that is configuredto enable multiple different individuals to participate in an onlinemeeting.

Thus, the cloud 208 is included as a part of the strategy that pertainsto software and hardware resources that are made available to themeeting device 102 via the Internet or other networks. For example,aspects of the meeting software 107 may be implemented in part on themeeting device 102 as well as in a distributed fashion via platform 210that supports web services 212.

In addition, system 200 can include one or more remote computing devices214 associated with remote participants who can participate in a meetingorganized and conducted through meeting device 102 or a differentmeeting device. Each of the remote computing devices 214 can execute ameeting client that enables communication with meeting software 107.

Generally, any of the functions described herein can be implementedusing software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manualprocessing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms“module,” “functionality,” and “logic” as used herein generallyrepresent software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof In thecase of a software implementation, the module, functionality, or logicrepresents program code that performs specified tasks when executed onor by a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs). The program code can be stored inone or more computer readable memory devices. The features of thegesture techniques described below are platform-independent, meaningthat the techniques may be implemented on a variety of commercialcomputing platforms having a variety of processors.

For example, the computing device may also include an entity (e.g.,software) that causes hardware or virtual machines of the computingdevice to perform operations, e.g., processors, functional blocks, andso on. For example, the computing device may include a computer-readablemedium that may be configured to maintain instructions that cause thecomputing device, and more particularly the operating system andassociated hardware of the computing device to perform operations. Thus,the instructions function to configure the operating system andassociated hardware to perform the operations and in this way result intransformation of the operating system and associated hardware toperform functions. The instructions may be provided by thecomputer-readable medium to the computing device through a variety ofdifferent configurations.

One such configuration of a computer-readable medium is a signal bearingmedium and thus is configured to transmit the instructions (e.g., as acarrier wave) to the computing device, such as via a network. Thecomputer-readable medium may also be configured as a computer-readablestorage medium and thus is not a signal bearing medium. Examples of acomputer-readable storage medium include a random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), an optical disc, flash memory, hard disk memory,and other memory devices that may use magnetic, optical, and othertechniques to store instructions and other data.

In the discussion that follows, a section entitled “Meeting Join forMeeting Device” describes how meeting devices can be joined to a meetingby a trusted entity in accordance with one or more embodiments. Next, asection entitled “Example Methods” describes example methods inaccordance with one or more embodiments. Last, a section entitled“Example Meeting Device” describes aspects of an example device that canbe utilized to implement one or more embodiments.

Having considered an example operating environment, consider now adiscussion of how a meeting device can be joined to a meeting inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

Meeting Join for Meeting Device

Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to log intoan online meeting in association with a trusted entity, such as atrusted user. Once trust is established between the trusted entity andthe meeting domain, such as an enterprise domain, permissions can beassigned to a meeting device, by virtue of the trust relationship withthe trusted entity, to enable the meeting device to join the meeting asa participant, thus allowing the meeting device to bypass an initialjoin process such as a meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of theassigned permissions, the meeting device may take control of the meetingand control the experience for others in the meeting as a meetingorganizer or some other permission-centric role.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system in accordance with one or more embodimentsgenerally at 300. In this particular example, system 300 includes afirst device 302, a computing device 102 that serves as a meeting deviceas described above and below, and a meeting service 304. The firstdevice 302 and the meeting device can communicate with the meetingservice 304 by way of any suitably-configured network including, by wayof example and not limitation, the Internet which is represented bycloud 308.

The first device 302 can comprise any suitable type of device such as,by way of example and not limitation, a portable device such as a tabletcomputer, cell phone, smart phone, laptop, and the like. In theillustrated and described embodiment, the first device 302 is associatedwith a trusted entity. A trusted entity can include, by way of exampleand not limitation, a trusted user having credentials, a trustedapplication, a trusted software entity, and the like.

The computing device 102 i.e., the meeting device, is typically anunauthenticated device that has no security credentials with respect toa meeting domain in which a meeting is to take place. That is, byitself, computing device 102 has no way to join a particular meetingthat it is about to be able to join with the help of first device 302.Accordingly, computing device 102 can be considered as untrusted.

The process about to be described can be thought of as including atwo-part process. First, a control relationship is established betweenfirst device 302 and computing device 102. Second, once the controlrelationship is established, and based on the trusted entity associatedwith the first device 302, computing device 102 can be admitted to ameeting.

Establishing a Control Relationship

In at least some embodiments, prior to establishing a controlrelationship between first device 302 and computing device 102, a trustrelationship is established between first device 302 and meeting service304. The trust relationship can be established in any suitable way. Forexample, a trusted entity associated with the first device can establishthe trust relationship with the meeting service. For example, a trusteduser can login to a particular meeting that is to be conducted bymeeting service 304 and, by presenting appropriate credentials, beauthenticated to the meeting domain. Other ways of establishing trustcan be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaimed subject matter.

The control relationship that is to be established between first device302 and computing device 102 is, in at least some embodiments, based onlocational proximity of the devices. That is, first device 302 wishes tocontrol computing device 102 such that the computing device 102 can beadmitted, in a trusted manner, to the meeting that is to be conducted bymeeting service 304. Computing device 102, on the other hand, serves therole of an un-trusted, unauthenticated computing device that is to beadmitted to the meeting by virtue of an “endorsement”, so to speak, fromfirst device 302.

To establish the control relationship, first device 302 will establishthat it is, in fact, in locational proximity to computing device 102 ina manner that is consistent with conducting an online meeting. Thiscontrol relationship can be established in any suitable way.

For example, in at least some embodiments the control relationship canbe established through a process that includes at least some manualsteps. Specifically, computing device 102 may display a device name anda PIN. When a user associated with first device 302 comes into proximitywith computing device 102, the user can enter the device name and PINinto a suitably-configured user interface presented by online meetingsoftware. The device name and PIN can then be transmitted to the meetingservice 304. Using a look up or some other technique, the meetingservice checks for the computing device 102, verifies that the PIN iscorrect, and passes the PIN back to the meeting device. This establishesa local trust between the first device 302 and the computing device 102.The local trust is the foundation upon which the control relationshipbetween first device 302 and computing device 102 is built. The controlrelationship allows connectivity and communication between first device302 and computing device 102. For example, the control relationship canallow for the first device 302 to actually control the computing device102 as by muting, an muting, changing volume, disconnecting, or anyother basic meeting service function that can be provided by computingdevice 102.

The control relationship can also be established in other ways. Forexample, the control relationship can be established using wirelesscommunication, e.g., Bluetooth communication, between first device 302and computing device 102. By way of wireless communication, informationcan be exchanged between the devices, in a manner similar to thatdescribed above, to automatically enable first device 302 to establishlocal trust with the computing device 102. Additionally, near fieldcommunication (NFC) or QR scanning can be utilized to automaticallyestablish local trust between the devices. Such can include, by way ofexample and not limitation, “bump-to-connect” functionality.

Alternately, the control relationship can be established in apeer-to-peer manner. For example, computing device 102 can obtain atoken from, for example, first device 302. The computing device 102 canthen present the token to the meeting service 304 in order to join themeeting. The token for this particular meeting may have been previouslyacquired by the first device 302 from the meeting service 304.

Now that trust has been established between the trusted entityassociated with first device 302 and the meeting service 304, and localtrust has been established between the first device 302 and thecomputing device 102, the process to admit the computing device 102 tothe meeting can take place.

Admitting Meeting Device

Admitting the computing device 102 to the meeting can take place in anysuitable way. For example, in at least some embodiments, the computingdevice 102 can have a so-called “friendly” name such as “Oaks” that ispopulated onto a user interface of first device 302. The “Oaks” name canmap to a globally unique identity associated with computing device 102.When the user of first device selects a particular meeting to join, asby touch selecting a “join” option, a communication is transmitted tothe meeting service, who is knowledgeable of the pairing between firstdevice 302 and computing device 102. The meeting service 304 can,responsive to receiving the communication, use the globally uniqueidentity to admit the computing device 102 to the meeting. Admission tothe meeting can include establishing any suitable communicationprotocols between the meeting service and the meeting device.

When the computing device 102 is admitted to the meeting, it can beadmitted with elevated permissions that are the same as theauthenticated user of first device 302. That is, not only can thecomputing device 102 be admitted to the meeting, but it can be promotedin its role so that it is more than simply an anonymous meetingattendee. For example, the computing device 102 can be admitted to themeeting as a meeting organizer or meeting presenter. Accordingly, byvirtue of the trust endorsement from first device 302, computing device102 can be afforded at least two benefits. First, computing device 102can bypass a pre-meeting admissions staging area that is normallyreserved for anonymous users. Some meeting software refers to thisstaging area as a “lobby.” Second, the computing device 102 canautomatically be assigned rights and privileges other than thoseassociated with passive, anonymous meeting attendees. This means thatthe user of first device 302 can quickly and efficiently begin a meetingand participate using the full resources of the computing device 102.

Having described how a meeting device can be joined to a meeting inaccordance with one or more embodiments, consider now example methods inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

Example Methods

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in accordancewith one or more embodiments. The method can be implemented inconnection with any suitable hardware, software, firmware, orcombination thereof. In at least some embodiments, the method can beimplemented, at least in part, by a software application executing on aclient-side device such as a portable device.

Step 400 establishes a trust relationship between a trusted entity and ameeting service. Any suitable method can be utilized to establish thetrust relationship. In at least some embodiments, the trusted entity isa trusted user and the trust relationship is established by virtue ofthe user's credentials. Step 402 establishes local trust between acomputing device and a meeting device. This step can be performed in anysuitable way. For example, a user's computing device can establish thatit is local and proximate the meeting device in a manner consistent withconducting an online meeting. Examples of how this can be done areprovided above. Step 404 causes the meeting device to be admitted to ameeting based on the trust relationship between the trusted entity andthe meeting service. Examples of how this can be done are providedabove.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in accordancewith one or more embodiments. The method can be implemented inconnection with any suitable hardware, software, firmware, orcombination thereof. In at least some embodiments, the method can beimplemented by different entities. These entities include a firstdevice, a meeting device, and a meeting service. Steps that areperformed by each of these entities appears under an appropriateheading—either “First Device”, “Meeting Device”, or “Meeting Service”.

Step 500 establishes a trust relationship with a meeting service. Thisstep can be performed in any suitable way, examples of which areprovided above. For example, this step can be performed by conveyinginformation, such as credential information, from the first device tothe meeting service. This credential information can be used, forexample, to enable a user or device to log into a particular onlinemeeting.

Step 502 establishes, at the meeting service, a trust relationship withthe first device. The step can be performed in any suitable way,examples of which are provided above. For example, this step can beperformed by the meeting service receiving information conveyed from thefirst device, and using the conveyed information to authenticate theuser or device and admitting the user or device into the online meeting.

Step 504 establishes a control relationship with the meeting device. Thestep can be performed in any suitable way examples of which are providedabove. For example, the first device can receive information, e.g., aPIN, associated with the meeting device, and provide this information tothe meeting service in order to enable the control relationship to beestablished. Alternately or additionally, the first device can provideinformation, e.g., a token, to the meeting device which, in turn, can beprovided to the meeting service in order to enable the controlrelationship to be established.

Step 506 enables a control relationship to be established with the firstdevice. This step can be performed in any suitable way. For example,this step can be performed by providing information, e.g., a PIN, fromthe meeting device to the first device to enable the first device toestablish the control relationship. Alternately, this step can beperformed by receiving information, e.g., a token, from the first deviceand providing this information to the meeting service in order to enablethe control relationship to be established.

Step 508 communicates, by the first device, admission information to themeeting service. This step can be performed by communicating informationassociated with the meeting device to the meeting service. Thisinformation can include, by way of example and not limitation, theglobally unique identity associated with the meeting device.

Step 510 receives, at the meeting service, admission information fromthe first device. Responsive to receiving the admission information,step 512 admits the meeting device to the meeting. The step can beperformed in any suitable way including, by way of example and notlimitation, automatically admitting the meeting device with elevatedpermissions, such as those associated with a trusted user of the firstdevice or permissions that are elevated above those of a passive,anonymous meeting attendee.

Step 514 receives, by the meeting device, admission to the meeting. Thispermits the user of the first device to utilize all the resources of themeeting device to conduct the meeting. This can include serving in therole of presenter or meeting organizer with all rights and privilegesassociated therewith.

Having described example methods in accordance with one or moreembodiments, consider now an example meeting device in accordance withone or more embodiments.

Example Meeting Device

FIG. 6 illustrates various components of an example meeting device 600that can be implemented as any type of computing device as describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 to implement embodiments of thetechniques described herein. Aspects of device 600 can be utilized toimplement a computing device that executes a meeting service asdescribed herein.

Device 600 includes communication devices 602 that enable wired and/orwireless communication of device data 604 (e.g., received data, datathat is being received, data scheduled for broadcast, data packets ofthe data, etc.). The device data 604 or other device content can includeconfiguration settings of the device, media content stored on thedevice, and/or information associated with a user of the device. Mediacontent stored on device 600 can include any type of audio, video,and/or image data. Device 600 includes one or more data inputs 606 viawhich any type of data, media content, and/or inputs can be received,such as user-selectable inputs, messages, music, television mediacontent, recorded video content, and any other type of audio, video,and/or image data received from any content and/or data source.

Device 600 also includes communication interfaces 608 that can beimplemented as any one or more of a serial and/or parallel interface, awireless interface, any type of network interface, a modem, and as anyother type of communication interface. The communication interfaces 608provide a connection and/or communication links between device 600 and acommunication network by which other electronic, computing, andcommunication devices communicate data with device 600, such as in thecontext of the meeting.

Device 600 includes one or more processors 610 (e.g., any ofmicroprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process variouscomputer-executable instructions to control the operation of device 600and to implement embodiments of the techniques described herein.Alternatively or in addition, device 600 can be implemented with any oneor combination of hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that isimplemented in connection with processing and control circuits which aregenerally identified at 612. Although not shown, device 600 can includea system bus or data transfer system that couples the various componentswithin the device. A system bus can include any one or combination ofdifferent bus structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local busthat utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures.

Device 600 also includes computer-readable media 614, such as one ormore memory components, examples of which include random access memory(RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., any one or more of a read-only memory(ROM), flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), and a disk storage device. Adisk storage device may be implemented as any type of magnetic oroptical storage device, such as a hard disk drive, a recordable and/orrewriteable compact disc (CD), any type of a digital versatile disc(DVD), and the like. Device 600 can also include a mass storage mediadevice 616.

Computer-readable media 614 provides data storage mechanisms to storethe device data 604, as well as various device applications 618 and anyother types of information and/or data related to operational aspects ofdevice 600. For example, an operating system 620 can be maintained as acomputer application with the computer-readable media 614 and executedon processors 610. The device applications 618 can include a devicemanager (e.g., a control application, software application, signalprocessing and control module, code that is native to a particulardevice, a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device, etc.). Thedevice applications 618 also include any system components or modules toimplement embodiments of the techniques described herein. In thisexample, the device applications 618 include an interface application622 and a gesture capture driver 624 that are shown as software modulesand/or computer applications. The gesture capture driver 624 isrepresentative of software that is used to provide an interface with adevice configured to capture a gesture, such as a touchscreen, trackpad, camera, and so on. Alternatively or in addition, the interfaceapplication 622 and the gesture capture driver 624 can be implemented ashardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Additionally,computer readable media 614 can include a web platform 625 and meetingsoftware 627 that functions as described above.

Device 600 also includes an audio and/or video input-output system 626that provides audio data to an audio system 628 and/or provides videodata to a display system 630. The audio system 628 and/or the displaysystem 630 can include any devices that process, display, and/orotherwise render audio, video, and image data. Video signals and audiosignals can be communicated from device 600 to an audio device and/or toa display device via an RF (radio frequency) link, S-video link,composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital videointerface), analog audio connection, or other similar communicationlink. In an embodiment, the audio system 628 and/or the display system630 are implemented as external components to device 600. Alternatively,the audio system 628 and/or the display system 630 are implemented asintegrated components of example device 600.

Example Implementations

Example implementations described herein include, but are not limitedto, one or any combination of one or more of the following example:

A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing a trustrelationship between a trusted entity and a meeting service;establishing local trust between a computing device and a meetingdevice; causing the meeting device to be admitted to the meeting basedon the trust relationship between the trusted entity and the meetingservice, and the local trust between the computing device and themeeting device.

A method as described above, wherein the trusted entity comprises atrusted user and the trust relationship is established by virtue of usercredentials of the trusted user.

A method as described above, wherein establishing local trust isperformed by establishing that the computing device is proximate themeeting device in a manner consistent with conducting an online meeting.

A method as described above, wherein the meeting device has no securitycredentials with respect to a meeting domain in which the meeting takesplace.

A method as described above, wherein establishing local trust comprises,at least in part, transmitting a PIN associated with the meeting deviceto the meeting service.

A method as described above, wherein establishing local trust comprisesreceiving entry of a PIN associated with the meeting device andtransmitting the PIN to the meeting service.

A method as described above, wherein establishing local trust isperformed, at least in part, automatically by way of wirelesscommunication between the computing device and the meeting device.

A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing, by a firstdevice, a trust relationship with the meeting service; establishing, bythe first device, a control relationship with a meeting device;communicating admission information to the meeting service effective toenable the meeting service to admit the meeting device to an onlinemeeting, admission to the online meeting being based on both the trustrelationship and the control relationship.

A method as described above, wherein said establishing a trustrelationship is performed by conveying credential information to enablea user to log into an online meeting.

A method as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises receiving information from the meeting device andconveying this information to the meeting service.

A method as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises providing information to the meeting deviceeffective to enable the meeting device to provide information to themeeting service.

A method as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises receiving a PIN from the meeting device andconveying the PIN to the meeting service.

A method as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises establishing the control relationship based onlocation proximity between the first device and the meeting device.

A method as described above, wherein said communicating admissioninformation is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted tothe online meeting with elevated permissions.

A method as described above, wherein said communicating admissioninformation is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted tothe online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting admissions staging area.

A device comprising: one or more processors; one or more computerreadable media; computer-readable instructions embodied on the one ormore computer readable media and executable by the one or moreprocessors to implement a meeting service configured to performoperations comprising: establishing a trust relationship with a firstdevice; receiving admission information from the first device, theadmission information being associated with an untrusted meeting device;and based on the trust relationship and the admission information,admitting the meeting device to the meeting.

A device as described above, wherein establishing the trust relationshipcomprises receiving information associated with a trusted entity andusing the information to provide admission to an online meeting.

A device as described above, wherein said admitting comprises admittingthe meeting device with elevated permissions that are the same as atrusted entity associated with the first device.

A device as described above, wherein said admitting comprises enablingthe meeting device to bypass a pre-meeting admissions staging area.

A device as described above, wherein said admitting comprises admittingthe meeting device with permissions associated with a meeting organizeror presenter.

A system comprising: one or more processors; one or morecomputer-readable storage media storing an application which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations comprising: establishing a trust relationship witha meeting service; establishing a control relationship with a meetingdevice; and communicating admission information to the meeting serviceeffective to enable the meeting service to admit the meeting device toan online meeting, admission to the online meeting being based on boththe trust relationship and the control relationship.

A system as described above, wherein said establishing a trustrelationship is performed by conveying credential information to enablea user to log into an online meeting.

A system as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises receiving information from the meeting device andconveying this information to the meeting service.

A system as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises providing information to the meeting deviceeffective to enable the meeting device to provide information to themeeting service.

A system as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises receiving a PIN from the meeting device andconveying the PIN to the meeting service.

A system as described above, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises establishing the control relationship based onlocation proximity between the first device and the meeting device.

A system as described above, wherein said communicating admissioninformation is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted tothe online meeting with elevated permissions.

A system as described above, wherein said communicating admissioninformation is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted tothe online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting admissions staging area.

A meeting device comprising: one or more processors; one or morecomputer-readable storage media storing an application which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations comprising: enabling a control relationship to beestablished with a first device, the control relationship enabling, atleast in part, a meeting to be conducted using the meeting device; andreceiving, from a meeting service, admission to the meeting in a mannerthat enables a user of the first device to use the meeting device toparticipate in the meeting.

A meeting device as described above, wherein said enabling is performedby providing information to the first device for provision to a meetingservice in order to enable the control relationship to be established.

A meeting device as described above, wherein said enabling is performedby receiving information from the first device and providing thereceived information to a meeting service in order to enable the controlrelationship to be established.

A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving admission to themeeting is effective to provide the meeting device with elevatedpermissions.

A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving admission to themeeting is effective to provide the meeting device with elevatedpermissions that are the same as an authenticated user of the firstdevice.

A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving admission to themeeting is effective to admit the meeting device as a meeting organizeror presenter.

A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving admission to themeeting is effective to enable the meeting device to bypass apre-meeting admissions stag

Conclusion

Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to log intoan online meeting in association with a trusted entity, such as atrusted user. Once trust is established between the trusted entity andthe meeting domain, such as an enterprise domain, permissions can beassigned to a meeting device, by virtue of the trust relationship withthe trusted entity, to enable the meeting device to join the meeting asa participant, thus allowing the meeting device to bypass an initialjoin process such as a meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of theassigned permissions, the meeting device may take control of the meetingand control the experience for others in the meeting as a meetingorganizer or some other permission-centric role.

Although the embodiments have been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the embodiments defined in the appended claims are not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing theclaimed embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:establishing a trust relationship between a trusted entity and a meetingservice; establishing local trust between a computing device and ameeting device; causing the meeting device to be admitted to a meetingbased on the trust relationship between the trusted entity and themeeting service, and the local trust between the computing device andthe meeting device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the trusted entitycomprises a trusted user and the trust relationship is established byvirtue of user credentials of the trusted user.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein establishing local trust is performed by establishing thatthe computing device is proximate the meeting device in a mannerconsistent with conducting an online meeting.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the meeting device has no security credentials with respect to ameeting domain in which the meeting takes place.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein establishing local trust comprises, at least in part,transmitting a PIN associated with the meeting device to the meetingservice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing local trustcomprises receiving entry of a PIN associated with the meeting deviceand transmitting the PIN to the meeting service.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein establishing local trust is performed, at least in part,automatically by way of wireless communication between the computingdevice and the meeting device.
 8. A computer-implemented methodcomprising: establishing, by a first device, a trust relationship with ameeting service; establishing, by the first device, a controlrelationship with a meeting device; and communicating admissioninformation to the meeting service effective to enable the meetingservice to admit the meeting device to an online meeting, admission tothe online meeting being based on both the trust relationship and thecontrol relationship.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8,wherein said establishing a trust relationship is performed by conveyingcredential information to enable a user to log into an online meeting.10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein establishing thecontrol relationship comprises receiving information from the meetingdevice and conveying this information to the meeting service.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises providing information to the meeting deviceeffective to enable the meeting device to provide information to themeeting service.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, whereinestablishing the control relationship comprises receiving a PIN from themeeting device and conveying the PIN to the meeting service.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises establishing the control relationship based onlocation proximity between the first device and the meeting device. 14.The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein said communicatingadmission information is effective to cause the meeting device to beadmitted to the online meeting with elevated permissions
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein said communicatingadmission information is effective to cause the meeting device to beadmitted to the online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting admissionsstaging area.
 16. A device comprising: one or more processors; one ormore computer readable media; computer-readable instructions embodied onthe one or more computer readable media and executable by the one ormore processors to implement a meeting service configured to performoperations comprising: establishing a trust relationship with a firstdevice; receiving admission information from the first device, theadmission information being associated with an untrusted meeting device;and based on the trust relationship and the admission information,admitting the meeting device to an online meeting.
 17. The device ofclaim 16, wherein establishing the trust relationship comprisesreceiving information associated with a trusted entity and using theinformation to provide admission to the online meeting.
 18. The deviceof claim 16, wherein said admitting comprises admitting the meetingdevice with elevated permissions that are the same as a trusted entityassociated with the first device.
 19. The device of claim 16, whereinsaid admitting comprises enabling the meeting device to bypass apre-meeting admissions staging area.
 20. The device of claim 16, whereinsaid admitting comprises admitting the meeting device with permissionsassociated with a meeting organizer or presenter.
 21. A systemcomprising: one or more processors; one or more computer-readablestorage media storing an application which, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: establishing a trust relationship with a meeting service;establishing a control relationship with a meeting device; andcommunicating admission information to the meeting service effective toenable the meeting service to admit the meeting device to an onlinemeeting, admission to the online meeting being based on both the trustrelationship and the control relationship.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein said establishing a trust relationship is performed by conveyingcredential information to enable a user to log into an online meeting.23. The system of claim 21, wherein establishing the controlrelationship comprises receiving information from the meeting device andconveying this information to the meeting service.
 24. The system ofclaim 21, wherein establishing the control relationship comprisesproviding information to the meeting device effective to enable themeeting device to provide information to the meeting service.
 25. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein establishing the control relationshipcomprises receiving a PIN from the meeting device and conveying the PINto the meeting service.
 26. The system of claim 21, wherein establishingthe control relationship comprises establishing the control relationshipbased on location proximity between the first device and the meetingdevice.
 27. The system of claim 21, wherein said communicating admissioninformation is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted tothe online meeting with elevated permissions.
 28. The system of claim21, wherein said communicating admission information is effective tocause the meeting device to be admitted to the online meeting bybypassing a pre-meeting admissions staging area.
 29. A meeting devicecomprising: one or more processors; one or more computer-readablestorage media storing an application which, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: enabling a control relationship to be established with afirst device, the control relationship enabling, at least in part, ameeting to be conducted using the meeting device; and receiving, from ameeting service, admission to the meeting in a manner that enables auser of the first device to use the meeting device to participate in themeeting.
 30. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein said enabling isperformed by providing information to the first device for provision toa meeting service in order to enable the control relationship to beestablished.
 31. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein said enablingis performed by receiving information from the first device andproviding the received information to a meeting service in order toenable the control relationship to be established.
 32. The meetingdevice of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to the meeting iseffective to provide the meeting device with elevated permissions. 33.The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to themeeting is effective to provide the meeting device with elevatedpermissions that are the same as an authenticated user of the firstdevice.
 34. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admissionto the meeting is effective to admit the meeting device as a meetingorganizer or presenter.
 35. The meeting device of claim 29, whereinreceiving admission to the meeting is effective to enable the meetingdevice to bypass a pre-meeting admissions staging area.